Stillwater+Area+Public+Schools

=Planet Trekker=

PROJECT DETAILS
//Title: Planet Trekker// //Collaborators: Wayne Feller, Stacy Maddux// //School and District: Rutherford Elementary School, Stillwater Public Schools// //Content Providers: List anyone outside of the classroom you connected with.// //Grade level: 4// //Subject Areas: Math, Social Studies, Language Arts// //Recommended Time Frame: October 2010 - February 2011//

MN State Standards Alignment
//(Because all content areas have different structure please provide content area, strand, substrand and standard. Basically anything that is listed before the standard, see example below.)// Mathematics
 * I. Number and Operation
 * A. Demonstrate mastery of multiplication and division basic facts; multiply multi-digit numbers; solve real-world and mathematical problems using arithmetic.
 * 4.1.1.5 Solve multi-step real-world and mathematical problems requiring the use of addition, subtraction and multiplication of multi-digit whole numbers. Use various strategies, including the relationship between operations, the use of technology, and the context of the problem to assess the reasonableness of results.
 * II. Algebra
 * Use input-output rules, tables and charts to represent patterns and relationships and to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
 * 4.2.1.1 Create and use input-output rules involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve problems in various contexts. Record the inputs and outputs in a chart or table.

Social Studies
 * VI. Economics
 * Economic Choices
 * VI.B.2 The student will understand basic principles of economic decision making.
 * V. Geography
 * Essential Skills
 * V.E.1. The student will use maps, globes, geographic information systems and other sources of information to analyze the natures of places at a variety of scales.
 * V.E.1. The student will use maps, globes, geographic information systems and other sources of information to analyze the natures of places at a variety of scales.

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
//What are the big ideas for your project?// Students are invited to participate in the planning for a trip to another country. This planning requires thinking, organizing, problem solving, and decision-making skills to prepare for this trip. The preparation includes constructing budgets, calculating currency exchanges, plotting an itinerary with time zone differences, preparing a few language greetings, planning and calculating luggage weight with conversions, investigating geographical points of interest with directions, and (most important) deciding how to make a financial contribution to improve the lives of people in the country to be visited. Covering Minnesota State Standards in Mathematics, Social Studies, and Language Arts, the assembly of this information will take the form of a multi-media travel brochure with text, links, images, audio, and (optionally) video. The individual multi-media brochures will be gathered together into a single electronic book in epub format which will be distributed to parents and other interested parties. Loaded to en ereader, such as an iphone, ipod touch, ipad, nook, etc., this ebook can be viewed on mobile devices.

CRAFT THE DRIVING QUESTION
//What is the significant question that will drive this project?// How can you plan a trip to another country that includes donating money to improve the lives of others?

PLAN THE ASSESSMENT
//What are the products and artifacts for this project?// The artifiacts gathered early in the project include spreadsheets on budgets and currency exchanges, and audio language translation, organized images, 5 or more facts about a given country, and links. Criteria for assessment includes accuracy and practicality of the budget and currency calculations, accuracy of the time zone calculations, relevance of the gathered facts, accuracy of the cited links, accuracy of the language translations, and aesthetic impact of the brochure layout.

MAP THE PROJECT
//How will the project be organized?// The major product is the production of the multi-media brochure. The tasks necessary to produce a high quality product include constructing tables for budgets and currency that include percentages, and production of charts and graphs representing that data. Students will need to know how to create a spreadsheet with columns and rows, how to set up budget categories based on percentages, how to make currency conversions, how to calculate time zone differences, how to import images, text, audio, video, and links, and how to use Google Translate to produce a translation. The students will learn each of these skills during the course of the project, starting with the mathematical calculations. They will use Pages, Google Translate, and Excel. Every student will complete all the tasks. Each student will apply their information and skills to a country of their choice.

MANAGE THE PROCESS
//How will you manage and facilitate this project?// This project was paced individually for each student. Whenever a student completed one phase, such as budget spreadsheet with an extracted graph, they proceeded to the next task. There were no ESL students or special-needs students in this class, but a personalized approach enabled each student to progress with the construction of the brochure with a differentiated pacing. Students who assembled the elements more quickly focussed their work time on additional research on their chosen country or added supplemental voice translations. Students who finished early served as brochure layout coaches for other students. When the final ebook is distributed, students and teachers will be able to evaluate the relative effectiveness of different layout techniques, color combinations, depth of information, and impact of the various media elements.

=PROJECT RESOURCES=

Videoconference Lesson Plan
Students participated in a videoconference with three different adults who have experience with world travel. Each student wrote 3 - 5 questions they asked the adults. At least one of the questions asked was required to focus on the issue of charitable giving of money, resources or time.

Documents
The final Planet Trekker epub file, plus project map, class flipchart, and checklist can be downloaded at the [|Planet Trekker Collection.]



Media Files
Images, audio files, and other media are available in the final epub file which can be downloaded from the above link. To view the epub file, drag and drop it into the book section of iTunes, then sync it with a device such as ipone or ipod touch. Another way to view it is to drag and drop it into an ereader (such as a Nook).

Web Resources
Buck Institute for Education [|http;//www.bie.org]